March 7, 2010
Stanford, Calif. - No. 15 Stanford earned a big victory heading into the break for final exams, knocking off No. 15 Vanderbilt, 14-9. It was the second Stanford victory over a ranked opponent this season and improved the Cards overall record to 4-2. Leslie Foard led the big Stanford win with five goals.
"We talked to them about playing with passion," said head coach Amy Bokker. "I thought it was important to come out with a good effort heading into the two week break for dead week and finals."
Stanford fell behind 1-0 early, but Foard responded by scoring on consecutive free position shot to give Stanford a 2-1 lead. After Vanderbilt tied in, Claire Hubbard found Dana Lindsay in front of the net for a goal and Stanford led 3-2.
The Cardinal would not trail again as Karen Nesbitt and Sarah Flynn each added a pair of first-half goals, while Lindsay also added a second goal of the half and Stanford took a 8-5 lead to the break.
Stanford outshot Vanderbilt just 14-12 in the first half, but Annie Read made four saves to give Stanford the advantage.
Stanford got on the board right away in the second half with Foard notching the hat trick with her third goal of the game. Hubbard assisted the Foard goal for her third assist of the game and her team-leading 13th of the season.
Vanderbilt pulled with two at 9-7, but then Nesbitt added her third goal for a hat trick and the Cardinal did not look back. Foard scored twice more to match her career high with five goals and then Emilie Boeri and Lauren Schmidt added goals as Stanford cruised to a 14-9 victory.
Read came up big again in the second half with seven more saves, giving her 11 for the game. The junior now has 69 saves on the season to go with 69 goals allowed for an even .500 save percentage.
The Cardinal outhustled the Commodores in the second half, winning eight of 11 draw controls and grabbing 20 ground balls to just 11 for Vanderbilt.
"Vanderbilt is a great team," said Bokker. "I was pleased that we played so well against a top opponent."
The Cardinal will now have a two week break as the student-athletes prepare for dead week and finals. Stanford will be back in action on Monday, March 22, when Cincinnati comes to town for a 4:00 p.m. face off back at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.